


It Came from Tumblr: Scooby Doo

by Eternal_Phantom



Series: It Came From Tumblr [3]
Category: Scooby Doo - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Squips (Be More Chill), Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-13
Updated: 2020-09-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:47:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 17,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26450638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eternal_Phantom/pseuds/Eternal_Phantom
Summary: Fics Bits and loose chapters from my Tumblr account focusing on Scooby DooChapter specific warnings will be posted in the chapter notes at the top
Series: It Came From Tumblr [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1924756
Kudos: 32





	1. Young Wizards

“Great Job, my young wizards, be sure to stop my the Magic Shoppe next year.” Mr. Gibbles congratulated. He pulled a candle from his pocket, intent that they at least got to say goodbye to Jack.

“Like, that’s the second time you’ve called us that.” Shaggy commented. “Why?”

“Why what?” Mr Gibbles paused, confused.

“Why are you calling us wizards?” Shaggy gestured to himself and Scooby. “There’s nothing magical about us.”

Mr. Gibbles froze, and Princess Willow and the Goblin King looked back in shock. “Nothing magical - Boys, are you completely unaware of what you just did?”

Shaggy shrugged. “Yeah, but like, we had your cards giving us some magic.”

“Rand Rack rand Roomey rand ra Rairies,” Scooby added.

The aged shopkeeper suddenly felt the need to sit down. He thought them negligent in their studies, certainly. But he’d never even considered the fact that they had no idea. By the powers of Halloween, he’d basically sent a normal boy and his dog to the Spirit World. “How could you not know?”

“Know what?” they both asked.

“That you two are steeped in magic.” The Goblin King answered, causing Scooby and Shaggy to jump. “It flows both to you and from within you.”

Shaggy gulped. “That’s, like, probably from the cards or witches brew or something.”

Mr. Gibbles shook his head. “Boys, normal people can’t use those cards. Heck, normal people can’t even find my shop. Real magic isn’t meant for them. Too often you end up with individuals like him.” He gestured towards the man trapped in the Goblin King’s cage.

“Are you telling me that _those two_ are real magicians?!” Krudsky was practically foaming at the mouth.

“Yes, unlike you.” Princess Willow snapped at the man. “Their power is their own, not stolen.”

“This has got to be a mistake!” Shaggy argued

“Rig Ristake” Scooby agreed.

“It is not.” The Goblin King looked down on them, but his expression softened. “I do not know how you are unaware of what you are, but magical people are welcome in my Realm. You could come with us, master your power. You have my word you’d be under my protection. None of the creatures of darkness would bring you harm.”

“Nor the creatures of light.” Princess Willow added.

It was…oddly tempting. As terrified as he had been, there was something strangely _right_ about the spirit world. But there was no way either would take them up on that offer, and they both knew it.

“Thanks, but no thanks man.” They both glanced back at the three figures, frozen in magic. “That would mean spending a whole year apart from our friends. And there’s no way that’s happening.”

“Rot ra rance,” Scooby agreed.

“They mean that much to you?” The Goblin King inquired.

“Enough that we were ready to face you down to keep them safe.” And really what better proof was there?

The Goblin King laughed. “Well said!” He was well aware of how intimidating he was.

Willow seemed to be thinking about something, then took a deep breath. “His friends are really good people,”

The Goblin King merely raised an eyebrow. “Are those not the same mortals who captured me, allowed the false magician to get my staff, and tried to take you for themselves?”

“I’m right here, you know?’ Krudsky snapped.

Willow shook her head. “They were trying to save me. I don’t think they knew who you were. I heard them talking; they were worried about me.”

The Goblin King glanced at the three mortals. More humans whom he’d misjudged. Yes, the three of them had done those five many a disservice tonight. Fairy Princess Willow, who’s carelessness started this fiasco, Gibbles, who’d sent two untrained and unaware wizards to what statistically should have been their doom, and himself, whose desperation to get his daughter back had overcome his judgement and escalated things allowing Krudsky to get his staff.

“Very well,” Dawn’s light was beginning to creep up there wasn’t much time. The Goblin King snapped his fingers and Fred, Daphne, and Velma came out of their trances. “Your friend may remember this night as well. If only so I don’t suffer the indignity of being caught in another of their traps.”

Fred had the grace to look sheepish.

“Are you going to be okay,” Daphne asked Willow.

“I’ll be fine,” The fairy assured her. She wasn’t looking forward to being grounded, but after seeing what had happened tonight, she wasn’t going to be sneaking out again any time soon.

“Go to where my shop was,” Mr. Gibbles advised. “I’ll leave a few things there for you when it fades. It should get you started on what you need to know.”

“Feel free to take any books from the False magician’s collection. He won’t be needing them.” The Goblin King grinned unnervingly. Krudsky gulped. “I look forward to checking on your progress next year.” Those were the last words spoken as the sun broke the horizon and they vanished back to their own world.

“Did that just happen?” Velma asked flatly. “Did any of that just happen?”

“It did,” Fred affirmed. “We tried to rescue a fairy and got turned into monsters.” The actual memory of that was kind of blurry, but still there. He remembered the darkness rolling over him, the feeling of cold and death, then the thirst for blood. It wasn’t something he ever wanted to feel again.

“Then Shaggy and Scooby turned up…on a flying broom?” Daphne half recalled/half asked.

“Yeah, it’s, like, been one way weird night for all of us.” Shaggy gave a weak laugh, then embraced his friends. “I’d thought we’d lost you guys. That Krudsky was going to turn you into his mindless monster minions and we’d never seen the real you again.”

“I don’t think we were exactly mindless, but I know I didn’t feel like me either,” Daphne confessed.

“It was like I was there but there was some kind of template overwriting my normal reaction to things,” Velma tried to explain. “The idea of chasing people was appealing, but I still knew you guys were my friends and I didn’t want to hurt you.”

“Wish the Mystery Machine felt that way,” Fred bemoaned.

“It’s a van, Freddy.” Daphne reminded. “It didn’t have a mind of it’s own besides what Krudsky gave it.”

“Well, I for one am glad everything is back to normal and that Mystery Inc is once again magic-free,” Velma announced.

Scooby and Shaggy looked nervous. “Well, about that…”

Velma pinched the bridge of her nose. “So what else happened that’s going to shatter my long held faith in logic?”

They gulped. “Well, it like, turns out, you see-” Shaggy struggled to find the words. “The reason Mr. Gibbles sent us to stop Krudsky was we’re kind of wizards. But we didn’t know! And Mr. Gibbles and the Goblin King don’t know how we didn’t know, but we don’t. Er, didn’t. I mean, we know now since he told us, but-”

“Breathe, Shaggy.” Daphne instructed. “Did something happen to you like it did for us, or-”

“Re ron’t row,” Scooby answered.

“I mean, I guess we were wizards before this started, since Mr. Gibbles called us that as soon as he saw us. But I don’t know why or how long.” Had they always been wizards? It was a scary thought to not know something that big about yourself. But maybe that’s why he and Scooby always seemed to see things none of the rest of the gang did.

“Why don’t we check on the thing he said were waiting for you in the shop?” Fred suggested. “Maybe we’ll find some answers there.”

“Sounds good.” Shaggy glanced at the caravan wagon The Amazing Krudsky had set up in. “I don’t think I want anything that used to belong to him.

They got into the Mystery Machine (no longer the Monstrous Machine) and headed to where Scooby and Shaggy remembered the store being. The wrought-iron fence declaring ‘The Genuine Magic Shoppe’ were gone and the building itself was silent, as though it hadn’t been open for years.

“Are you sure this is the right place?” Velma asked.

“Rositive!” Scooby said as the opened the door. The room empty, all the merchandise gone and a think layer of dust over everything. Everything, that was, except for a small pile of books stacked on the counter. Fred picked up the first one. “Denizens of the Magical Realm” he read the cover out loud. ‘Beginning Spells for Wizards, Witches, and Warlocks’ was the next one, followed by ‘Magical Theory Made Simple’ and 'A Brief History of the Spirit World’.

“Jeepers, I guess this is the right place after all.” Daphne commented.

Velma picked up 'Magical Theory Made Simple’. “Shaggy, do you mind if I read this one? It might help me get a handle on things.” As much as she’d rather forget magic existed, she wasn’t going to ignore what was right in front of her. Especially if it was going to be a part of Scooby and Shaggy’s lives from now on.

“Like knock yourself out. I’m going to need all the help I can get, and you’ve always been the best tutor.”

Velma grinned at the compliment. “This isn’t my usual subject matter, so we’ll see. Let me give it a skim before you do any spells. That way if something goes wrong, I might be able to figure out what.”

“Spells, right.” Somehow the idea that he was a wizard and that he might be casting spells hadn’t quite connected. Using pre-spelled magic items others had made was one thing. Casting his own spells…

“Maybe you can make another flying broom,” Daphne suggested. “You looked like you were having fun on the one you had before.”

“Just promise me on thing guys,” Fred looked serious, “No spells on the van that I haven’t approved.”

“Not a problem, man” Shaggy promised. He knew how much the Mystery Machine meant to Fred.

“Of course, if you think of some good ones let me know.” He wasn’t nixing enchanting the van entirely, just no surprises.

Daphne gathered up the remaining books. “I think we all have a lot of reading to do. But I want to know about everything that happened last night first.”

“Okay, but can we catch breakfast first? Me and Scoob are starved.” Shaggy rubbed his rumbling stomach for effect.

“Re ridn’t ret to reat rour randy.” Scooby whimpered, doing his best to look pitiful.

Velma laughed. “Okay you two, but we’re getting the story while we eat.”

As the five headed out to the van, none knew they were being watched. The Goblin King stared into the crystal ball, watching the heroes of the Spirit World leave for breakfast. The wizard’s mortal friends did not balk, nor did they seek his power for their own purposes. Instead they rose to support and aid him however possible.

“I told you they were good,” Princess Willow reminded, sitting on her father’s shoulder.

“And in this case, I do believe you were right, dearest daughter.” The Goblin King agreed. For so long he’d only seen the worst of mortals. Those who sought to steal power or become monsters to harm others. He had truly begun to believe there were no good humans left, until last night.

Still, if they maintained this behavior perhaps a boon my be offered next Halloween. After all, there were three ways for a mortal to gain access to magic. They could be born with it, like Scooby and Shaggy. They could steal it, like Krudsky. Or it could be freely given.

And if his friends were as worthwhile as Shaggy believed, perhaps it was time for there to be a new coven in the worlds of men and monsters.


	2. A Scaly Situation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based on a prompt for 'another member of the gang gets turned into a monster and Shaggy's like I got this'
> 
> Trigger Warning for an older man trying to force a teenage girl into sex. Because Zeus.

They were all getting worried at this point. It was their last day of their vacation in Greece. They had gotten the almost required mystery done early and spent the rest of their vacation relaxing. It had been rather nice- until last night when Daphne didn’t come back to the hotel. They had called the police, but had also searched themselves. (Scooby having gone with Velma, just in case), but neither the police nor the teens had turned up anything. Panic had really started to set in when Shaggy heard a familiar soft sobbing.

“Daph?” He called, sticking his head into a cave by the sea.

“Don’t come in!” she shrieked, startled. “I don’t want you to see me!”

Shaggy had no clue what was going on. If she was missing clothes or something, he’d apologize and take his lumps later. Right now he just needed to see that she was okay.

“Daphne, like, what’s going on? Everyone’s worried…about…” Shaggy cut off, trying to process what his mind was seeing.

Daphne was, there was no delicate way to put this, not as human as she had been when he last saw her. She was covered from head to what was once her toes in purple and green scales. Her body from the waist down was like a snakes and her beautiful hair had become a crimson cobra’s hood. “Don’t look at me,” she sobbed, hiding her slitted eyes with her hands.

But Shaggy didn’t hesitate, sitting down next to her. “Daphe, what happened?” Had she always been a snake-person and was hiding it? Or had something made her this way?

“T-there was this guy,” she sobbed. “H-he was handsome and charming. R-really really good l-looking. H-he was so nice at f-first. Then he wanted me to g-go with him to his place. He w-wanted me to s-sleep with him. I told him no, c-cause I’m not ready f-for that, and wouldn’t do it w-with a guy I didn’t know anyways. H-he got mad…”

She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself at least enough to tell the story clearly. “He got mad and called me a tease. He made it sound like he had a right to my virginity. He tried to force me and I hit him. Then he turned me into this.” she gestured to her current state.

“Said only a cold blooded woman wouldn’t want a piece of him, so I might as well look the part.” her tail lashed out haphazardly, obviously she had no idea how to control it. “He said the only way to break the curse was a kiss from someone who found me just as sexually attractive like this as my real self. He said he’d give me that kiss - after I birthed a child for him. But I’d rather be a snake for the rest of my life than let him touch me!”

Rage was a very rare emotion for Shaggy, but right now he was slowly being consumed by it. “I’ll kill him,” he swore with a vehemence that shocked Daphne. “If I ever see him-”

“Don’t,” she pleaded. “If he’s some kind of sorcerer he’ll just do something worse to you and-” she blinked as something occurred to her. “You’re not scared of me?”

Now it was Shaggy’s turn to be confused. “Like why would I be afraid of you?”

“Because I’m a scaly snake monster?!” She responded, incredulously.

He shrugged, “So what?”

“Shaggy, you’ve been afraid of every potential monster we’ve ever come across,” she reminded him.

“Yeah, but you’re, like, no random ghoul. You’re one of my best friends. Why would I be afraid of you?”

Daphne leaned over, carefully since she still didn’t really understand how to move her new body, and hugged him. “Thanks Shag. I - you’re a lot braver than we give you credit for.”

He laughed. “Just remember that the next time I run in terror.”

They both laughed, something at that point Daphne never thought she’d do again. Then Shaggy paused as something occurred to him. “Hey, can I see your hand for a second?”

“Sure?” She put her scaly hand in his own, not sure why, and he kissed it.

Immediately the scaled fell from the hand, then the arm, and from the rest of her. She sat of the floor of the cave looking as she always had. “How?”

Shaggy shrugged, “Well, I’m not attracted to girls or snake people. So zero and zero’s an equal amount, right?”

Daphne’s jaw dropped slightly. “Wait, are you telling me you like boys?”

But he just shook his head. “I’m not really attracted to anyone, not that way. I mean, I think having an evening with a girlfriend would be great. Maybe even kissing or cuddling, but past that,” he shrugged. “No interest.”

“So you’re a teenage boy and you don’t….wow,” For some reason that almost seemed harder to wrap her head around than the fact that she had been a snake for most of the day and the entirety of the prior evening. Although, now that she thought about it, she couldn’t remember a single time Shaggy had shown that kind of interest in anyone.

“Let’s go find Fred and the other,” Shaggy suggested. “Like everyone’s really worried about you,” he offered her his hand and she took it, a little unsteady being back on her two feet again. Still the better they got out of there and as far away from that monster, the better.

~ (Elsewhere)

“Hephaestus, I need you to ensure none of the machinery on their van or boat breaks down. Poseidon, make sure the seas are clear and calm, Artemis, if Zeus does discover this and give chase, I need you to leave him astray. Athena, you’re in charge of back up plans.” Hera ordered. Hermes would have been truly useful here. Unfortunately he couldn’t be trusted not to inform Zeus for ‘funsies’.

“This is an awful lots of fuss for one group of mortals,” Poseidon yawned.

Hera struck him with a glare that made him sit up. None of the gods, save her husband, were willing to invite her wrath. “That woman not only refused my husbands initial advances, she refused him even while cursed, and then she and her friend beat Zeus at his own game. The least we can do is make sure she is out of my husband’s reach when he realizes it. Thankfully, due to his actions, she’ll probably never set foot in Greece again.”

But if she did, Hera would do her best to protect her. She had no sympathy for women who gave into her husband, no matter what the circumstances. One who refused him like that? She would have a very powerful benefactor for the rest of her days.

~~~~~~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Zeus strikes me as someone who would not take asexuality into account


	3. A Different Shaggy Wolf Story

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A version of werewolf Shaggy different from Fangs or my unwritten one

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> >>Canine speech<<

They were not prepared for this in any way, shape, manner, or form. They could admit that readily. They weren’t prepared for a culprit who was a skilled enough escape artist to get out of their trap. They were not prepared for the culprit being willing to commit an act of violence to escape, using a piece of debris as a club, hitting Daphne in the face. They were also not prepared for Shaggy to snarl and jump the guy. And they _really_ weren’t prepared for him to turn into a giant wolf when he did so.

  
But that’s exactly what happened. One minute everything was normal, the next their most fearful friend was a giant wolf on top of the unmasked man, snarling in his face while the man screamed then passed out.

  
“R-Raggy” Scooby whimpered.

  
The wolf looked at him concerned, then padded over to where Daphne had fallen. She froze and Freddy unfroze, rushing towards her. But Shaggy only whimpered slightly and gave her cheek a lick before nuzzling her comfortingly.  
  


“Daphne, Shaggy are you guys okay?” Fred asked shakily. 

  
“I…I think so?” Daphne sounded unsure, but the wolf - Shaggy - wasn’t trying to hurt her.

  
>>Packmate hurt<< Shaggy whimpered.  
  


Scooby’s ear’s shot up. Not only was he speaking a canine dialect, but it didn’t even sound like Shaggy. >>Daphne’s going to be okay. He didn’t hit her hard enough to cause real damage<<

  
>>Packmate…not hurt bad?<< Shaggy tried to understand what Scooby was telling him.

  
Scooby winced. Wolves were intelligent animals, but tended to be a bit more primitive, especially in speech. This was Shaggy, he recognized them as packmates, but not the Shaggy he knew. >>Not hurt bad<<

  
>>Good<< Shaggy curled up besides her.

  
“Scooby?” Fred asked, recognizing that there was a conversation, but unable to follow it. “He’s…he’s still Shaggy, right?”

  
“Re..re rows rus,” Scooby tried to explain. “Rut rot rimself. Rolf rind. Ri ron’t runderstand. Re rused re rounter-rell.”

  
Velma, who up until this point had been just been looking back and forth between the full moon and Shaggy, suddenly snapped to attention. “Counter-spell? What counter-spell? This has happened before?” 

  
“Ronce, rut rot rike ris. Re ras rore ruman. Rody rand rind.”

  
“So something happened to make him less human this time? We need to figure out what it was, look at it logically,” The words were normal Velma, but the tone wasn’t. The words were timid and hesitant, her normal faith in logic shaken.

  
“He knew?” Fred’s tone turned harsh. “Why?” he demanded of the wolf. “Why didn’t you tell us?”

  
Shaggy quivered, his ears flattened against his skulls and his tail tucked between his legs. He made a whimpering noise and Fred turned to Scooby. “What did he say?”

  
He hadn’t really said anything. “Re rows rou’re rupset, rut re doesn’t runderstand rhy.”

  
“What’s not to understand? He didn’t trust us, he kept this a secret, he-”

  
“Freddy,” Daphne’s hand on his arm cut him off. There was already a bruise forming on the right side of her face. “Remember how Scooby said he had a wolf’s mind? I don’t think it’s that he doesn’t think your anger is justified. I think he’s honestly not capable of understanding the situation,”

  
“Indeed. While wolves are among the most intelligent of animals, and can be trained like dogs (albeit with far more work), they’re still nowhere near human intelligence. He can probably recognize us, understand pack dynamics and canid social interactions, play, food,” Shaggy’s ears popped up to which Velma muttered _Of course_ , “maybe fighting off enemies, but honestly very little else. Video games, music, human social behaviors. Until sunrise, those things are just _gone_.” They had to be back come sunrise. She couldn’t bear it if they weren’t. “He’s basically a feral wolf.”

  
“He’s not feral,” Daphne protested. “He hasn’t tried to attack any of us.”

  
“I said feral, not rabid. He’s acting the way a wolf would towards his pack.” Velma corrected. “Wolves are far from raging beasts. Caring for the injured and such is perfectly normal for them. But at this point Shaggy’s basically a wild animal.”

  
Fred felt a cold feeling in the pit of his stomach, all his anger draining out of him. He looked into the wolf’s eyes hoping to see something, anything of Shaggy in them. He saw concern, but little else.

  
>>Eat bad meat?<< Shaggy asked Scooby as their pack leader vomited in the nearby bushes.  
  


~  
  


Shaggy woke up in the back of the Mystery Machine, which wasn’t unusual, except he didn’t remember falling asleep. A bleary eyed glance told him everyone else was in the back of the van too. Weird, when they had to stay in the van, someone would usually be stretched out on the front seat. He felt something shift to his side and saw Daphne waking up. “Shaggy?”  
  


“Like, yeah?”

  
She broke into a huge grin and hugged him. “You’re human again! Well, human-ish. But close enough!”

  
Human? Ish? Shaggy looked at his hands and noticed they had become furred claws. “What? But I did the counter spell?” he looked at himself in horror. “No, no, no…”  
  


This had the effect of waking the rest of the people in the van. Shaggy braced himself, not knowing how they’d react to how he looked right now. He was expecting fear, dreading anger. Somehow hugs never entered his mind.  
  


“Rou’re rack!” Scooby exclaimed.  
  


“Back? Where did I go?” And why wasn’t anyone freaking out?  
  


“You turned into a wolf last night after that guy attack me. All the way into a wolf.” Daphne explained. “You recognized us, but didn’t seem to understand English-”  
  


“Except the word ‘food’,” Velma cut in.  
  


“-or realize you were supposed to be human at all.”  
  


Shaggy gulped. Losing control of himself was his number one fear since this whole mess had started. “I didn’t, like, hurt any of you, did I?”  
  


“Not at all,” Fred reassured. "You were more like an overgrown puppy than anything else.“  
  


"Oh,” That was better than it could have been, he supposed. “Well, like, let me counter spell this and we can go home,”  
  


“Actually, I don’t think that’s a good idea. I asked Scooby about the difference between your previous change and this one, and about the counter spell. Scooby mentioned it was slower to take hold each time.” Velma adjusted her glasses. “I hypothesize that the spell doesn’t counter the curse so much as suppress it. And after a while something has to give and the curse manifests itself much more strongly than it would otherwise. In terms of keeping your own mind, it might be better not to use it.”

  
“I don’t have a choice!” he snapped. “The last time people saw me like this they tried to kill me!”

  
Everyone else in the van froze. “Re ron’t row rey rere roing ro-”  
  


“You don’t organize a mob and shout things like "Get Him” or “Don’t let him escape” if you want a peaceful chat.“ Shaggy shrunk in on himself. He tried his best not to remember that night, or the days that followed it. Scooby whimpered and curled up against him, much as he had done for Daphne last night.  
  


"They didn’t!” Daphne hissed.  
  


“Why would they-?”  
  


“I was a monster, that was all the reason they needed.” His voice cracked. “I didn’t even realize I had changed before they started chasing me.”  
  


“Oh Shaggy,” Daphne and Velma looked shocked, but for Fred something clicked.  
  


“That’s why you didn’t tell us, isn’t it? You were afraid we’d react the same way.”  
  


Shaggy shrugged. “I don’t think I could take it if you did.” he admitted. “And I figured it didn’t matter since I had the counter spell.”  
  


“Which could be doing you more harm then good.” Velma pointed out again. “Still, you’re right. As it stands, you don’t have much of a choice. But that gives us a month to find an alternative, whether it’s a better counter, finding ways to 'vent’ the curse, or a real cure.”

  
“Preferably the latter,” Shaggy almost begged.  
  


“I’ll do my best,” Velma promised.  
  


“We’ll _all_ do our best,” Fred swore.  
  


“And even if we can’t find anything, or you go full wolf again, we’ll be there.” Daphne grabbed his hand. “We’re not leaving you alone, or letting anyone else lay a finger on you.”  
  


Shaggy opened his mouth a few times, trying to find the right words for how relieved, how _touched_ he was, but none would come.  
  


“Turn yourself back,” Velma advised. “Then we can get home and start to work on this.”  
  


Shaggy nodded and whispered the magic words he had memorized by the point and his wolfish features instantly faded. “Huh, that was easier than last time.”  
  


“You let off some, if not all the pressure, by transforming last night.” Velma explained. This seemed to confirm her theory.  
  


Well, that probably meant he had a few good months before he went wild again. “Let’s go,”  
  


Home sounded good.


	4. Ficbits

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Small bits of a story written in response to a meme challenge

All of Mystery Inc had many enemies, if you counted all the villains they put away. Shaggy had a couple more, due to the frankly bizarre situations he and Scooby found themselves in. But they were soon forgotten, once dealt with

Except one.

Krudsky.

The stupid magician who had almost destroyed the world in his quest for power. But that wasn’t why he lived on in Shaggy’s nightmares. He’d almost taken his friends from him, had briefly manages to take them from themselves. None of the things he’d seen in the Spirit World had scared him as much as that.

Because Shaggy’s friends were his world, and no matter what, he couldn’t forgive anyone who would take them away.

* * *

Sometimes Shaggy considered telling the others the truth. He knew enough (relatively) harmless monsters to introduce them to. To prove he wasn’t a scaredy cat, that the things he feared were real.

he never would though. He’d keep that secret to the Grave. The last thing he wanted was for them to feel as scared as he did. 

* * *

Most people would say Shaggy didn’t have any scars. And physically speaking, it was true.

They wouldn’t count the way he flinched when he got the hiccups or hid from the full moon. The way he’d suddenly get depressed or guilty when he entered a bog. How he’d keep his mouth shut no matter how bad a performance was being put on and kept the whole gang within eyesight on Halloween night, even if it meant forgoing candy.

In Scooby’s opinion, Shaggy had far far too many scars.

* * *

Many people wouldn’t call a sandwich ‘art’. Those people were silly. Did they think art was only something to hang on a wall? 

And sandwich, or any homemade food really, was something hand crafted, it’s style unique to the person who made it. 

The type of bread, filling, keeping it from being dry while no being soggy. Each aspect a note as much as any musical chord

It wasn’t something that stayed around for long. Much like sand paintings they were meant to be enjoyed before they vanished all too soon.

Seriously, Scooby Doo didn’t understand why people didn’t considered sandwiches, especially Shaggy’s, a work of art.


	5. A couple more ficbits

Shaggy hated the full moon. He could feel it when it was in the sky. It was bad luck shining down on him. Taunting him _I had you once, I’ll have you again._ He did his best to make excuses not to go out those nights, and when he did he spent the whole night worrying. Was he going to grow claws at any moment? Fangs? Would his mind be torn from him and he transform into a literal monster?

The Gang had noticed, of course. How could they not? Once a month he’d become paranoid and snappish only to revert the next day. While he never lost his humanity, his sanity was causing more and more concern.

* * *

((Based on Come Full Circle))

Though the manse was the most comfortable and amazing place he’d ever stayed, there were times Shaggy preferred to sleep outside. Walls had been a transient thing his whole life, and he wasn’t quite sure he ready ready to accept their permanency yet.

It felt more natural to him (no matter how unnatural he had become) to sleep lying on the grass. To have the crickets lull him to sleep and the birdsong to wake him up. And his oldest friend right by his side.

Velma and Fred had used large words to describe him and Scooby. “Soul-bonded” “Lunar/Solar counterpart.” But to Shaggy it was quite simple. Scooby was his partner and best friend. It was kind of cool he’d been so in a past life too. And no matter how strange things got, as long as Shaggy could curl up to sleep next to his best friend, things were doing okay.

* * *

“As you can see, there never was a _real_ Warlock of Warrentown,” Velma explained, unmasking the villain. “Zaron the Great is obsessed with the occult. He used his stage magic to bring the Warlock to life so he could steal the things from the exhibit.”

“He even rigged up a fake Wand of Sarinia with pyrotechnics.” Daphne showed off the replica of the wand, said by legend to glow in the hands of a worthy sorcerer. “He stole the real wand first.”

Fred twisted open the magician’s cane to reveal an identical wand inside. “Here’s the real one.” He handed it to the museum authenticator. 

“By Jove, this is the original Wand of Sarinia.” The authenticator examined it. “The unique carving and staining proves it. It’s never been reliably duplicated, at least not in a way that can’t be uncovered by close examination.”

“Like, which is why he kidnapped you.” Shaggy finished. “He knew you could, like, uncover him.” Shaggy clapped the authentication on the back, causing him to accidentally drop the wand.

Shaggy grabbed the wand before it his the ground and the tip erupted in multicolored hues. “ _Zoinks!”_ Shaggy yelped, waving it around trying to get the light to go out. It only gloved brighter in response.

“It must be another fake,” Velma declared sadly. “Where did you hide…the real…” she cut off at the look on Zaron the Great’s face. It was a look of shock mixed with rapt awe.

“Master!” the magician declared, bowing on his knees. “All my life I’ve search for real magic. True magic. Please, you must teach me!”

“Like we’re going to fall for that.” Fred took the wand from Shaggy, which stopped glowing. “See, the charge just ran out.” He handed it back to Shaggy. The moment he touched it it lit up like a beacon again.

“That can’t be a fake. I’m sure of it!” The authenticator declared.

“But, like, that makes no sense. I’m no sorcerer.” Shaggy gulped. “Am I?”


	6. A Werewolf on Zombie Island

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based on the prompt 'If Shaggy lost the race in Reluctant Werewolf'

There was a song about having friends in ‘low places’. Well Shaggy had certainly had friends in strange ones. Debts were important in the world of magic, even ones he didn’t think he was owned. But saving the girls, giving the Boo Brothers a home, had earned him enough help, enough allies that freed him and the others from the mad vampire’s control.

But he was still bound by the terms of his own bet. He hadn’t won the race, and no matter how much cheating had been levels against him, his wager was lost. He would be a werewolf forever.

He had to give up a lot, but the worst, by far, was Scooby. Not that his oldest friend wanted to go, but Shaggy knew Scooby would never be happy living in a world of monsters. Scooby would wake up back in Coolsville, remembering only that Shaggy had been kidnapped.

He’d stayed with the Boo Brother for a bit till he got his feet back underneath him. He later moved into the Scrawggins’ old place (Apparently the _real_ Shierriff Buzby wasn’t too pleased when he’d learned how close Billy Bob came to shooting both Shaggy himself and TJ, The Scrawggins were ‘strongly encouraged’ to leave town.)

Most monsters, he learned, weren’t overly fond of humans and didn’t understand his being upset with his new situation. The two he found himself resonating most with were ghosts and his fellow werewolves. Ghosts understood the longing to be human again, and while werewolves didn’t, they at least understood the pain of being separated from his loved ones.

It was years later when he was approached by a swamp monster of all things. The monster lived in the bayou near New Orleans and was _sure_ something was wrong. (And with how slow Plant monsters tended to be coming to conclusions, it had been going on for a good long while) Whatever it was was only targeting humans, so he didn’t think most monsters would help. In addition Shaggy used to belong to a group of Mystery Solvers.

Shaggy wasn’t one to run into a mystery, but he also wasn’t one for letting people get hurt if he could help it. One assumed name later and he was hired on MoonScar island as a field hand. Thankfully his extensive knowledge of food extended to growing it. He was sure the swamp monster was right. Underneath the overwhelming scent of cats and peppers there was the smell of death and something…dark.

It was the day of the harvest moon and Shaggy knew something would have to give. Today whatever had been happening would happen and it it didn’t happen before nightfall, he’d transform and everything would get more complicated.

Still it seemed like any other day. Simone kept to herself. Lena went about her chores. Beau just kept his nose to his work, digging his holes and placing flowers. It wasn’t until Lena came back form the market with a familiar van in tow that Shaggy felt himself lock up.

_Why were they_ **here?!** Of course, there was a mystery. He was torn between wanting to run to them, or just run away. He missed them terribly and he wanted to hug all of them and not let go. But the thought of telling them what he had become froze him in terror.

But running away wasn’t an option. Whatever had been targeting people was here and now the gang was in it’s path. At least they hadn’t recognized him from afar. The straw had he was wearing to protect him from the sun covered most of his face, and the rest was hidden behind a thick beard (the one benefit of being a werewolf as far as he was concerned)

He tried to focus on the peppers when he heard Velma’s voice suddenly asking “And what about him?”

“Oh Sammy, he’s a drifter looking for work Lena picked up.” Simone answered, using Shaggy’s fake name. “He doesn’t speak much. In fact, I don’t know if he can.”

Velma shot him a look across the yard and Shaggy felt his stomach curdle. It was the look she had when deciding someone was a suspect. Aimed at him. He wanted to cry but held it in, fighting the urge to run even more as Velma came up to him. 

“Sammy right?”

He couldn’t answer. She’d recognize his voice and then she’d know, so he merely nodded.

“How long have you been working with Miss Lenoir?”

He held up two fingers.

“Two years?” He indicated less.

“Two months?” An confirming nod.

“Have you heard anything about the so called haunting of Morgan Moonscar?” This got a shrug. Shaggy had heard some of the stores, but hadn’t seen anything like a haunting while he was here.

Velma studied him a moment, as if weighing his answers. He heard Scooby give out a small whine behind her. Of course Scooby would be the closest to recognizing him. But he looked and smelled different enough from what he used to. He’d be familiar, but not Shaggy.

“Do you believe the island is haunted?”

Shaggy hesitated this time, but ended in another shrug. He honestly didn’t know if the ghosts had anything to do with what was happening, but he didn’t know they didn’t either.

“Can you talk?”

Another vigorous negative. It wasn’t that he was physically unable to, but to her, to any of them? No he couldn’t.

And she walked away Shaggy chanced a glance towards her, towards them. Velma had changed the least. She was definitely taller and walked with a lot more confidence though. Daphne was as lovely as ever, though her style had defined shifted from Fashionable cute to Fashionable mature, but where Velma had been more confidant, Daphne had somehow become more bubbly and enthusiastic. Fred’s shoulder’s had squared more and Shaggy could see his arm muscles were more defined, he could also guess the large camera he was holding was partly to blame. He also seemed to have mellowed out a bit, more content to let Daphne take the lead.

It was Scooby that broke his heart though. He stuck close to the group, switching between the three other members, but always being next to one of them. Not even the cats seemed to draw his attention away.

He’d hoped that Scooby would be able to get over losing him. After all, he’d still have the rest of the gang and his family. But he could still see the pain in his expression, his stance.

Shaggy did the only thing he could do to keep from moving towards his old friend. He went in the opposite direction. Forcing himself to take each step until he was in the trees where he could safely break down.

~

“What do you think?” Daphne asked.

“I think we need to figure out how the person behind it pulled it off. That will tell us a lot.” Velma was in deep thought. “Beau’s actions were strange. And Sammy certainly seems suspicious.”

“I…I don’t think he’s involved.” Fred shuffled nervously.

“A drifter without even a last name, doesn’t talk, and has no known history?” What about that isn’t suspicious?”

“I thought so to. After you talked to him, I saw him leave the field, so I followed him. He-” Fred looked even more uncomfortable. “He was crying.”

“Crying, why?” Daphne gave Fred her full attention.

“I didn’t exactly ask, Daph. If a guy goes off alone to cry, he usually doesn’t want anyone to know he’s there. But maybe he’s here for the same reason we are.”

“The ghost of Morgan Moonscar?” Velma raised an eyebrow.

“No, well, not exactly. But part of the case is a bunch of people who disappeared, right? Maybe one was someone he knew.” Fred theorized.

“It’s a stretch, but not completely outside the realm of possibility.” Velma allowed. If she was right and the goal of whoever was behind this was the theft of Morgan Moonscar’s treasure, an emotional reaction like crying wouldn’t fit in. “What do you think Scooby?”

“Ri riss Raggy.” the great dane choked out

The wave of grief hit them all like a slap in the face.

“Ri reep rinking re’s rhere, rut rhe’s not.” Scooby was shaking slightly. “Ri rant Raggy back.”

“We all do Scooby,” Velma leaned down and hugged him.

“Why don’t we take a break after this case?” Daphne suggested. It had been a long shot, but she’d hoped that in solving cases like they used to and airing it on TV maybe, just maybe, Shaggy would see it wherever he was and come back to them.

They didn’t talk about how long the odds were that Shaggy was even still alive, or if he was that he’d have access to a TV or the ability to come home if he hadn’t already. It was all they could think of when it seemed everyone else had already given up.

But if going back to the old days was hurting Scooby, maybe it was time to pull the plug.

This was going to be it. Mystery Incorporated’s last case.

But they’d see it through to the end. There was only one case they’d never solved and they weren’t giving up on that either.

~

There was a time when Shaggy would have fled from the sight on a bunch of ghosts becoming zombies. And he was still more than ready to do so in a moment’s notice. But living with monsters, as one, gave him at least the courage to try and talk to them. He didn’t realize how much he _hadn’t_ been talking till his voice came out raspy and hoarse.

The zombies, it turned out, couldn’t really vocalize, but they understood well enough and could at least make gestures to get their point across to answer his questions. Yes, they were the missing people. No, they hadn’t hurt anyone. Yes, there was something evil here. His final question ‘Were the people brought to the island in danger?’ got an enthusiastic yes. At which point Shaggy no longer cared about hiding who he was. He had to warn the others.

An oh-too familiar scream had him running towards the docks as the sun began to slip beneath the horizon

~

“Those were zombies. Real zombies!” Daphne gasped as they ran from where they had been looking for clues.

“I noticed!” Velma was right behind her. Fred was leading them while Beau brought up the rear, Scooby in the middle. They had tried to get back to the manor, but the path was blocked by the living dead.

“We’re back at the docks and I don’t believe it, It’s Jacques!” Fred pointed straight ahead to where the ferryman was just visible heading towards the island.

“I thought Lena said the ferry didn’t run at night,” Velma remembered.

“Who cares, Jacques, over here!” Daphne waved him down.

“Now whatch’all doing down here and not enjoin Lena’s fine cookin’?”

“Zombies, Jacques. The plantation is full of them.” Fred said grimly. “We couldn’t get back to Lena and Simone.”

“That a fact?” Jacques lifted his hat. “Dey gettin started mighty early this year.”

“This-This has happened before?” Beau stepped forward angrily. “And you knew?”

“Course we knew. We da reason dat dey’re here.” Jacques grinned and his face seemed to split apart as his features warped and twisted. Daphne screamed as they turned to run, but they didn’t get far as the creature Jacques had become grabbed Fred.

Scooby turned, ready to put his fear aside if it meant saving one of his remaining friends. But he was beaten to the punch by a blur that shot out of the wooded area and landed on Jacques.

“Freddy run!” Shaggy shouted, even as his wolf side manifested.

Scooby froze but Velma picked him up and ran now that Fred was free.

“Sammy knew my name. How did he know my name?” Fred gasped. The place where Jacques grabbed him seemed to burn.

“I don’t know, but did you see, he was turning into one of those things too!” Daphne gasped.

“Ro,” Scooby seemed to wake up and twisted out of Velma’s grip. He turned around and began running towards where the fight had been.

“Scooby, where are you going?” Daphne cried, but Scooby didn’t listen to her. For the first time he separated from them, beelining back to the voice that was so achingly familiar it could only belong to one person.

~

Shaggy slumped against one of the many trees, sliding down into the damp ground next to the swamp, letting the moon fall off his face. Whatever the heck Jacques was, his claws _hurt_. It felt almost like his very life had been drained from the wounds. Thankfully the moonlight boosted him too, the injuries would be healed soon. Still if it weren’t for the zombies coming to his aid, he very well could have been dead.

He needed to recover enough to find the others and keep them safe. He didn’t know how, he hadn’t been able to handle one of whatever Jacques was and the zombies had confirmed Lena and Simone were the same.

Not to mention getting the others to trust him now that they’d seen what he really was.

He heard the rustle of something approaching. It was too fast for a zombie, but too light for a cat monster. He swore if it was Snakebite and that hunting pig of his…

Scooby burst through, the others right behind. They recoiled at the sight of what was clearly a werewolf bathed in moonlight, but Scooby pressed forward, ending up dragging Fred along when he grabbed his collar.

He walked right up to the werewolf until he was practically nose to nose with him. Scooby looked into the achingly familiar eyes and he knew. “Raggy?”

Whatever resolve Shaggy had shattered in that moment. “Scooby Doo!” he cried, wrapping his arms around his oldest friends neck and began sobbing.

He jumped slightly when he felt Fred’s hand on his head. “Shag…what happened to you?”

“Like, stupid vampire wanted to play Pokemon with real monsters. Collect them all, you know.” Shaggy shrugged, not knowing what to say. “He made me into his pet werewolf.”

“ _Pet_!” Daphne’s voice raised to a near screech.

“Shh!” Shaggy didn’t know where the cat monsters were, but he didn’t want them to find them.

“Okay, this is just a little too much. You guys know Sammy, he can in fact talk, and he’s a werewolf? What’s going on?” Beau demanded.

“Sammy, it seems, is really our friend Shaggy, who was kidnapped about six years ago.” Velma explained.”And I’m guessing the not talking is because he didn’t want us recognizing his voice. At least since we’ve been here.”

Shaggy nodded. “There’s another monster that lives in the swamp. He knew something bad was happening here, but he didn’t know what. He asked me to look into it.”

“Why you? And how long have you known about what’s going on?” Beau continued his questioning.

“I live in Louisiana too, and I can fit in with humans, at least for a little while. As for the rest, I, like, kinda found out about the same time you did. I talked to the zombies and was able to get that Simone, Lena, and Jacques were behind the disappearances, that the zombies were the victims, and, like, you were in danger when I heard you scream. Also, whatever they are, I think their claws are cursed.”

“You live in… Shaggy you’ve been right here the entire time?“ Anger began to creep into Daphne’s tone. “Do you have any idea what it was like losing you? For us, for your family?”

“I know, I lost you guys too!” Shaggy snapped, then buried his head in his paws. “But bad things happen when the monster world and the human one mix. Things like this place. I was…it’s better for you if you just forget about me.”

“Nuts to that!” Velma stomped over. “You listen to me, Shaggy Rogers. We are all going to get off this island alive. You are coming with us back to Coolsville. And you are going to apologize to you parents and your sister for not coming straight home the minute you could. _Do I make myself clear?_ ”

“Y-Yes Ma’am.” Shaggy stuttered.

“Let’s focus more on the ‘get off this island alive part’.” Beau looked around. “We should probably keep moving.” He couldn’t say he was comfortable with a werewolf being with them. But even more than the kid’s faith was the fact that he could still see the injuries from when Sammy had protected his friend. “Can you think of anything that can help us?”

“Sorry, I, like, really don’t understand what was going on myself. It might help if I could really talk to the zombies, but this kind of thing doesn’t happen anymore.”

“Anymore?” Beau narrowed his eyes.

“Like, the stories come from somewhere. But it wasn’t good for either side. Monsters weren’t the only ones doing the hunting. Like, if people didn’t disappear in the bayou all the time, this would have been noticed earlier and taken care of. And, like, not by me. I’m with the get out of here option.”

“You’re not going anywhere.” Simone, or what had been Simone, stalked out of the brush, Lena and Jacques behind her.

Shaggy growled, his fur puffed up. Lena hissed back. The zombies did their best to swarm the monsters, but were easily thrown away.

“Why are you doing this?” Daphne asked.

“For life, mon chere,” Jacques laughed. “Life everlasting fer da three of us.”

“And the extermination of you wretched _dogs_ ” Simone snarled, raising her claws.

“ **That is why you hunt in my swamp**.” A slow voice burbled out of the water. “ **You have caused much pain and death. You have drawn unwanted attention. Your presence will no longer be tolerated.** ”

Large thick vines sprung from the trees and swamp water, wrapping around the cat creatures and pulling them in. They struggled and thrashed, but their fangs and claws couldn’t dent the vines that slowly drug the murderers to a watery grave. They tried to grab onto anything to anchor themselves, but the zombies continued in their quest for vengeance, some of the pirates and soldier instead circling the humans and canines, protecting them in case their killers broke loose. All three were pulled screaming into the water.

When the bubbles stopped the zombies seemed to dissolve. Their spirits rose from their remains, singing thanks and songs of freedom, as Shaggy and Fred’s injuries stopped their ever-present ache . From the swamp a large mass of vegetation rose. “ **You have found what was wrong in my swamp. I owe you.** ”

“You saved my friends, man. We’re even.” the werewolf shrugged.

The swamp monster seemed to regard him for a moment. “ **You are a strange man Shaggy Rogers. Good fortune to you and your friends.** ” He descended back into the water.

“Is it over?” Fred whispered.

“I think so,” Daphne whispered back.

“We made it.” Beau almost didn’t believe it. The undercover detective had no idea what he would tell his superiors, but he’d survived to tell them and that was something.

“Shaggy,” Daphne gulped. “If word got out about what happened today, it would be bad, wouldn’t it? Really bad?”

“It would.” Shaggy agreed. “It could start a new wave of hunts that innocent monsters would get caught in.”

“Including you.” Fred opened up his camera and handed the film to Daphne who smashed it over her knee, exposing the film.

“Guess you’ll have to find something else for your show.” Beau commented.

“Show?” Shaggy asked.

“We got what we wanted, footage was secondary.” Daphne said, smiling at where Scooby was firmly planted in Shaggy’s lap. “And he’s talking about my Show, _Coast to Coast with Daphne Blake_. Fred films it and Velma does the research. Come on, we’ll catch you up on what you’ve missed for the last six years on the way home.”

Home. He convinced himself he’d never see it again.

But maybe a monster could have a happy ending after all.


	7. Gravity Falls Cross

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Inspired by a pic from cirilee@tumblr.com
> 
> Also implied polygang

  
Stanley Pines regretted a lot of things. He regretted listening to what the Principal was saying to his brother. He regretted going to see his brother’s stupid invention. He regretted breaking it on accident. He regretted getting kicked out of his house. But right now what he was really regretting was when he had to choose between a meal and enough gas to leave Glass Shard Beach in the dust, he’d chosen the gas.

He’d tried, in his desperation, to grab something that looked edible out of a dumpster and ended up losing what little his did have in his stomach. When that settled he was hungrier than ever and had nothing left the could do but dig through his wallet, trying to find a few forgotten bills he knew in his heart weren’t there.

There were no bills, but he did find a forgotten piece of paper with a faded phone number scrawled on it. It had come from a group that had been passing Glass Shard Beach, two married couples and a dog, though he’d never quite figured out who was married to who. They had been about a decade older than Ford and himself and had helped them with some jerk in a costume who had tried to steal their boat to try and find some treasure that hadn’t even existed. They had passed him and Ford their number and told to call if they needed them.

Well, Stanley needed _someone_ right now. Honestly anyone at this point. He rooted through the car seats and managed to find a single dime. Not enough for food. But hopefully enough for one phone call.

He slid the dime into a pay phone and prayed they would pick up. _One ring_ What if they hadn’t meant help outside a case? _Two rings_ What if Ford had already told them what he had done and they hated him? _Three Rings_ What if-

“This is Fred Jones speaking, how can I help you?”

Stanley felt his mouth go dry, but he forced himself to speak. “This is Stanley Pines. You probably don’t remember me. We met at Glass Shard Beach.”

“Where the guy was pretending to be Captain Kidd, I remember. One of the twins, right?” 

“Yeah,” Stan swallowed. “You said to call if I needed help. And I kind of need help.”

“Is there another case?” The man sounded eager.

  
  
“No _I_ need help.” Stan’s voice cracked a bit and the voice on the other end went silent for a moment.

“Stay where you are, Stanley. We’re coming to get you.”

~

The old van looked exactly how Stanley had remembered, and boy was it a hard image to forget. The four people looked a little older, a few more lines, and their old dog was walking very gingerly, probably very arthritic at this point. And all of them seemed so concerned for him. They just led him into a diner, despite his weak protests that he couldn’t pay and ordered him food.

Their kindness opened the floodgates. He told them of how he was seen as a dead end by his school and parents. His jealousy of Stanford. Accidentally breaking the perpetual motion machine. Getting kicked out. Trying to keep things together.

And the four listened. Offering him a drink or food when he needed a minute. It felt like lancing a wound, letting his hurt out. Feeling both guilty and betrayed. “So I have to make money. A lot of money. If I get rich, then I can go home again.”

They didn’t say anything to his story at first. It was the red headed lady, Daphne if he remembered right, who broke the silence. “You should have told Stanford when the accident happened. He might have been able to fix it before the judging. That being said, there is NO reason for anyone to...to just abandon a family member like that.” She was unable to keep the anger out of her voice.

“I agree,” the other woman, Velma said. “You don’t just turn out your family. Especially over an accident. Those bonds are worth more than any amount of money or a prestigious college.”

“I don’t see my folks seeing it that way,” Stanley admitted.

The blond man, Fred bit his lip in thought. “You know, our job involves a lot of traveling, and we’re not getting any younger. It probably wouldn’t be a bad thing to have someone on hand to help with things.”

“That’s a great idea Fred.” Daphne perked up. “What do you say, Stanley? Interested in a job?”

“You probably won’t get super rich,” Velma admitted. “But we can at least promise food, a place to sleep, and gas in your car. At least until you family comes around. ”

There was a stubborn part of Stanley than wanted to dig his heels in and try to strike it rich. But after a few days without food, he knew he didn’t want to keep on as he had been. “And what happens if my family doesn’t come around?” Not something he wanted to consider, but he needed to be ready for the worst. He couldn’t be caught flat footed again.

“Then you’re, like, stuck with us.” The lanky guy, Shaggy, smiled.

“Ruck rith rus,” the dog agreed.

Stuck with them, not them stuck with him. “I think I’d like that. You got yourself a deal.”

“Like, a round of cake for everyone,” Shaggy ordered, “We gotta celebrate.”

“And you wanted cake,” Velma smiled.

“Welcome to the team Stanley.” Fred reached across the table to shake Stanley’s hand.

“Please, call me Stan.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had the idea that Stan eventually becomes something of a John Watson to the gang. Her's a showman a heart and he'd enjoy telling the (slightly embellished) stories of the gang's cases. Eventually he writes them down in a book and publishes it, because everyone has to know how awesome his adopted family is.


	8. Yet more ficbits

Prompt: "Oh don't look so surprised. You knew it was always going to end up this way whether we liked it or not."

Scooby stopped short, as did the rest of the gang, all of them looking at Shaggy in concern.  


“Shaggy are you okay?” Daphne asked worriedly.  
  


“What? This is what always happens: We go somewhere, we find a mystery, Scooby and I want to leave it alone, we solve it anyway,” he shrugged.

“Well this time I think maybe we should leave it to the police.” Fred had never seen Shaggy like this and in this moment figuring out how to help his friend was much more important than who was running around pretending to be a mutant lizard.

* * *

(continuation of the last)

Prompt: "Shaggy, is something wrong?"

Shaggy shrugged, “Nah, just business as usual.”

“That did not sound like business as usual,” Daphne challenged. Or if it was, that was an even bigger problem.   
  


“It’s not.” Fred said. He turned the Mystery Machine around. If they hadn’t gotten to the bottom of this after a couple of pizzas, it would be time for more desperate measures.

* * *

  
Prompt: By all accounts it was just another man in a mask “mystery”, she just needed the smoking gun to figure out who that man was; but as she stared down the stairs of the old, decrepit research lab, Velma couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something off about this whole thing.

Maybe it was the location? About a decade ago this place was a stone’s throw away from a major city, one that was wiped from the map in nuclear fire.

As she was about to jimmy open a door, her phone buzzed. “We’ve found the last clue we need,” Fred said, “and we’re ready to set a trap.”

Satisfied the mystery was solved, Velma abandoned the door and went back to her friend, never knowing about the T-00 Tyrant B.OW. she nearly woke up.

((In My defense, I recieve this prompt about an abandoned research lab right after the Resident Evil 2 remake came out))


	9. The Greatest Slytherin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Slytherin Shaggy

Acton Carmack was sorted into Slytherin because he father had wanted him to go there, and he swore it was the last time he let his father make such an important decision in his life.

Tradition and family honor meant little in terms of port-war Hogwarts. Slytherin house had been nearly gutted and no one wanted the association with Voldemort and the few that remained tend towards the old blood purist tendencies. It didn’t matter the Carmacks had remained neutral, he had found himself tarred with the same brush. 

He didn’t plan to stay that way. And after being quiet and observing, he knew exactly who could help him. He was scruffy looking and far too casual. And quite possibly the most devious mind Slytherin had seen in decades, if Acton was right.

“Rogers, may I have a moment of your time? I need some advice.”

The fourth and a half year (his first year unfortunately being the year the wizarding world went insane, which required the entire student body to repeated it) turned in surprise. “Uh sure. Oh guys, this is Acton Carmack, he’s in his second year. Acton, this is Alice Kissenger, Robert Medera, Velma Dinkley, and Jim Lovette.” 

Two Hufflepuffs, a Ravenclaw, and an actual Gryffindor. 

“Like, you guys don’t mind if I cut out for a bit, do you?”

Velma, the Ravenclaw, waved him off. “It’s fine, Shag. We can work on Arithmancy and pick up on Potions when you get back.”

“Sounds great, Velms. Be back soon. You can stay if you want Scoob.” Roger’s Great Dane familiar was rarely far from his human’s side, but he was obviously distracted by the snacks still on the table. In the end the dog decided to stay where he was and Rogers left with him. “Anywhere in particular you wanted to talk?”

“An unused classroom would be fine.” This wasn’t a conversation he wanted overheard, but going too far out of the way would be suspicious.

Thankfully there were many such rooms and it didn’t take long to find one. “So what can I do for you?”

“I…I need to know how you did it.” Acton did his best to keep his desperation out of his voice.

  
“Did what?” Rogers asked, the picture of innocence.

“Now perhaps more than ever Slytherins are seen as evil monsters, but somehow you’ve managed to avoid it, despite being in Slytherin during the war. Not only that, you’ve managed friends in all the houses. You even inspired enough loyalty that the other houses worked together to let you get your dog here. I’ve been trying to figure out how you escaped it since last year and I _can’t.”_

His would-be mentor was quiet for a moment. “Because, like, you want to escape the stigma of Slytherin House too?”

Acton gave a tight nod.

“Okay, so.” Rogers leaned back and appeared to think. “like the first thing is an advantage you don’t have. You know I’m a halfblood, right? While that’s technically true, my Mom’s family have been squibs for so many generations even my grandparents didn’t know about magic. Making me effectively-”

“A muggleborn.” Acton said as several thing clicked into place. 

“Right.” Rogers nodded. “So it was hard to see me a one of Moldyshorts lackeys when I could talk about wrestling and Commander Cool, but have no idea what quidditch teams or Martin Miggs was. That was, like, my foot in the door. Also I never even pretended to support ol’Snake Puss. I kinda spent my first first year hiding and crying.”

“It couldn’t have been all though?” Acton pressed.

“It was the start.” Rogers agreed. “Before Hogwarts me and Scoob tended to get in over out heads all the time and I just used the same strategy I did then.”

  
“Which was?” Acton leaned forward.

“Make a character.”

“A…character?” Acton repeated, dumbfounded.  
  


“Yeah,” Rogers shrugged like it was obvious. “Decide who you want to be in that moment. Just an innocent paper boy on his route. The son of a rich business mogul that someone might think twice about picking a fight with. Of course back then I only needed to be in character for a minute or two, until whoever was chasing me left. This was different. If I tried to act like one thing, and the next day I was someone else, like, everyone would know.”

“So you needed a character your could stick with.” Acton mused. “How did that work, though?”

“The first friends I made were Hufflepuff students. We met in the kitchens. Apparently it’s a tradition to take homesick first years there for a warm drink on the first night. I shared my cocoa with them and told them I how homesick I was, even though it was technically my second year, especially given how my first year went.”

“You showed weakness?” Acton asked in disbelief. That was the first thing you were trained not to do.  
  


“Slytherin family?” Rogers guessed with a wry smile. “It’s a quintessential Slytherin value, which is something I thought we were both trying to get away from.”  
  


He bit his lip. That was a true point.  
  


“Showing a weakness, even a small one, is a display of trust. And nowhere is trust valued more than Hufflepuff. I trust them, and so they trust me. And I make sure their trust is well placed. I help when I can, sometimes food, sometimes potions tutoring, sometimes just listening, and make sure I never betray them. As long as I do that, I know they’ll never betray me.”  
  


And in helping his cohort and underclassmen ensured he’d gain the loyalty of most of the house. “And Ravenclaws?”  
  


Rogers looked sheepish. “That’s, like, the one house the hat didn’t try to put me in. So Ravenclaws are smarter than most everyone else, and don’t you know it, they like it when other people notice. So I noticed. I’m pretty good with Potions and Transfiguration, but my History was a mess and my best ‘Defense’ against the Dark Arts is to run away. So I ask them for help, cause they’re smarter than me any day. Sure it means I owe them a favor or two, but it saved my grades, plus sometimes my Hufflepuff friends are having trouble too, so I can ask for help for them.”

Which would not only further validate the Ravenclaws, but also get him in even further with the Hufflepuffs by helping with their grade. “And the Gryffindors? I can’t even imagine getting close to one.”

“Well, like, to be honest, I kinda had to let them make the first move.” Rogers admitted, looking sheepish.  
  


“A Gryffindor approached you to be friends?” Acton wasn’t sure he could believe his ears.

“No, er, a Gryffindor approached me to curse me in the halls. Not exactly my finest moment.” Rogers chuckled self deprecatingly. “But my friends found me, and well, they weren’t happy. You know how Gryffindor’s supposed to be the house of the brave and noble? Well, questions started going around about how ‘brave’ or ‘noble’ it was for a fifth and a half year to be hexing a first and a half year essential Muggleborn who couldn’t cast a tickling jinx, much less a shield charm.”

And Gryffindors hated to be painted as villains. It wasn’t a far stretch that some would reach out to Rogers just to avoid being associated with the one who attacked him. “What about Slytherin? I haven’t seen you with people as much from our own house.”

Shaggy looked like he’d bitten into a lemon. “Well, if you want to impress them, just act snobbish and superior. But, like, that’s not my jive, man.”

That kind of behavior would be counter to the ‘character’ he had built. So he had chosen to forgo one small dwindling sphere of influence for three greater ones.

Rogers had shown vulnerability, put himself in another’s debt, and allowed himself to become a victim, all things his parents told him a Slytherin should never do. And yet from those actions he had complied the greatest social network in Hogwarts, filled with people bound not just through obligation or ambitions, but who were truly willing to go out on a limb for him.

Norville Rogers was, without a doubt, the greatest Slytherin to ever live.

“How long did you have to plan that all?” Acton asked, slightly starstruck.

“Like, who says I planned any of it?” Rogers’ grin was back. “That’s what happened, but none of it was on purpose. Well, except for asking the Ravenclaws to help me study. I mean, I asked to be put in Slytherin because green was my favorite color.”

A lifetime in training to comport himself was the only thing keeping Action from gaping. That…that couldn’t be, right? Rogers couldn’t have stumbled into this? The hat wouldn’t put someone in the House of the Ambitious and Cunning just because they liked green.

Of course it wouldn’t. But to say otherwise wouldn’t be in ‘character’. “Do you have any advice to get me ‘in the door’ as you stated before.”

“First of all, you don’t have to be so stiff and formal all the time. And if you let me know what classes you’re having trouble in, I can try and hook you up with on of the group study sessions for your year.”

“Charms and History.” he admitted. A study group rather than person tutoring meant a possible in with multiple houses. Rogers was showing him trust not to offend his contacts, as he initially showed trust to the Hufflepuffs. And he would do his best not to betray that.

“Thank you, Rogers.” Rather than suppress his gratitude, Acton let it show freely. He needed practice in not being ‘stiff’. “I really appreciate this.”

“Not a problem, man, That’s what friends are for.”

Friends, was it. Acton wasn’t sure he felt that open yet. But he was honored the older Slytherin had taken him under his wing. He was ready to learn all Rogers was willing to teach him.


	10. You can take the teen crimefighter out of Gotham...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: I wish you would write a fic where Daphne is secretly Batgirl.

It could have been so much worse, Barbara knew that. There were so many ways her father finding out she was Batgirl could have gone wrong (and didn’t she have one fear gas induced hallucination to prove it).

But being sent out of Gotham to live with some ‘upper crust’ relatives was grating. She’d thought she could do what Bruce did, create a vapid rich kid persona and stick with it until her father decided it was okay for her to come home.

She didn’t expect being ‘Daphne Blake’ to grate on her so much. She was sick of the personality in under a week. After a while it became too much and she felt herself starting to slip. Some of the ‘friends’ she’d made as Daphne began to drift when she showed she had more between her head than air, but to her surprise, new ones came along.

Fred Jones, noted hunk who spent his after school hours between the soccer team and theater club sat down beside her at lunch one day and told her how cool it had been for her to stick up for the person she rest of her former clique had been bullying.

Velma Dinkley, a genius that had been skipped two grades, had stormed up to her after she had aced the history midterm. She’d expected to be accused of cheating, but instead Velma asked her if she’d been throwing her other tests. She’d had to sit through an impassioned speech how her mind was too good to throw away like that, but had come away with another friend.

She’d thought she’d had a secret admirer when she found various food and snacks left in her locker. She’d tracked the person down and had found Shaggy Rogers and what she assumed was his emotional support dog (she’d eat her cowl if he didn’t have an anxiety problem). Turns out he’d seen how little she ate for lunch (she usually had a big breakfast and her class set had the earliest lunch, so she was never hungry) and was worried she wasn’t getting enough to eat. It was sweet and she wondered if he had been the snack santa for anyone else in school. Also turned out the dog talked. She wasn’t sure what to do with that.

Soon enough she had a group of friends, real friends, and she’d forgotten how much she missed it. They hung out, chatted, talked about school. There was no adjusting equipment, worrying about supervillains, or hiding the bruise from going though a wall. It was nice.

Then their first mystery happened. Barbara/Daphne worried about how to manipulate her friends into solving the case without them realizing it was her, but she didn’t have to, except maybe a pratfall into that one secret room. They solved it and caught the villain on their own.

More cases came and she felt so relaxed during them. It took her a while to figure out why. She admired Bruce and she always would, but he was obsessive, and Dick almost as much so. There was always this dark pressure around them. Here, with the Gang, it was lighter. The Night wasn’t so suffocating. There was a part of her that would always belong swinging from the rooftops of Gotham, but she had to admit her father may have been right to send her away before she ended up like the rest of her old team.

She still sent him pictures of her and the others catching masked villains of course. Had to let him know even under his restrictions she was still in the business, after all.


	11. Quirks (Crossover with BnHA)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: The Scooby Gangs with Quirks

The signs had been there for quite a while, but none of them had picked up on them. At the time it seemed like another internet hoax. A baby that glowed in Japan. A woman who could create ice in Italy. But in the age of video editing, no one took them too seriously.

It didn’t become real for the gang until about a year and a half after the glowing baby started the craze of people declaring they had super powers. They had been on a road trip and Fred had been repairing a tire when his lug wrench snapped.

“Oh no,” he moaned. A spare tire he had, a spare wrench no so much. “I think we need to call the auto service.“

“Like, let me.” Shaggy made a gesture like he was pulling something from thin air and grasped an identical wrench from the air.

“How did you do that?” Fred asked, impressed. “You’re wearing short sleeves, so you couldn’t have been hiding it up them.”

Shaggy shrugged. “Like dunno, man. I want something, I reach for it, and it’s there.”

“Very funny, Shaggy.” Velma plucked the wrench from his hand. “Carbon steel, just like Fred’s old one.”

“You can tell, just by looking?” Fred asked, even more impressed.

“Certainly. It’s not that hard, you just focus on something and you can tell, you know?”

“No.” came the response from all of them.

“Really?” Velma asked, surprised. “It’s really not that hard.”

“It’s not that it’s ‘not that hard’, Velma. It’s flat out _impossible._ ” Daphne explained, leaning out the Mystery Machine’s window.

“No, it’s not. I do it all the time.” Velma argued back.

“Hey, do you think this could be related to that superhero thing?” Fred asked, a note of excitement in his voice. “With people randomly developing super powers?”

“Fred, that’s not a real thing.” Velma rolled her eyes.

“Well, why don’t you test out whether Shaggy’s ‘power’ works while Fred fixes the wheel.” Daphne offered. 

“I’m telling you super powers don’t exist.” 

~

“I can’t believe this exists.” Velma said with tonelessly as she looked at the building in front of her

“Like me either.” Shaggy shuddered. “Like in comic books the government creating a registration list for supers always precedes real bad stuff.”

“At least you guys have it easy.” Fred pointed out “Tell them your power, demonstrate, then you get your registration card. Daph and I have to go through a whole battery to figure out if we even have a power.”

“I guess we meet up back here when we’re done.” Daphne gave them all a hug. “Good luck everyone.”

~

“I have a power!” Daphne ran out, waving a tiny plastic card. “You know how I haven’t been falling into trap doors as much anymore? I have some kind of radar and I’ve been subconsciously sensing the right way to go.”

“That’s great,” Velma said with as much enthusiasm as she could muster for the laws of physics breaking further.

Daphne knew how she felt, though, and didn’t take offense. “Shaggy’s not out yet? I figured he’d be fast, like you.”

“He was. But someone heard Scooby talking and turns out that’s not normal. So now they’re investigating animals developing powers.” 

“What even is normal?” Daphne wondered out loud.

“Not the same as it was five years ago,” Velma agreed sadly.

It was about half an hour later before Fred came out. “Hey, where’re the guys?”

  
“ _Sweet Freedom!_ ” Shaggy and Scooby all but bounded out of the building. 

“That took a while. They really weren’t ready for a dog with powers, were they?” Daphne smiled.

“Nah, they took that pretty well. Even had a metal working guy who could make a dog tag for him.”

Scooby moved his tag aside to reveal a new one under it, identifying him as a Class C Shapeshifter.

“Class C?” Velma inquired.

“Minor body changes, can’t change color.” Shaggy shrugged. “What kept us so long was the _lectures_.” he groaned.

“Lectures? What lectures?” Daphne looked to Velma and Fred to see if they had any idea what Shaggy was talking about.  
  


“‘Creating cash is still counterfeiting’, ‘Don’t make enough gold to crash the economy’. And like, it was _heavily_ hinted I should go easy on making jewels and stuff.”

“I guess your power is kind of easy to abuse.” Fred admitted.

Daphne put a hand on Shaggy’s shoulder. “Diamond’s values are artificially inflated so make as many as you want.”

“Like, I’d rather just go get a hamburger or twelve.”

“At least _something_ still makes sense.” Velma muttered.

“This is really bugging you, isn’t it?” Fred asked.

“ _Of course_ it is! Superpowers make no sense. Everyone in the world getting random ones? Even less sense. This is not something science can explain.”

“Yet” Fred added. “This isn’t something Science can explain yet. They’ll figure it out. Who knows, maybe you’ll be at the forefront of the discovery.”

Velma gave a weak smile. “You always know what to say, Jones. Come one, let’s get Shaggy his burgers before he wastes away to nothing.”

Shaggy and Scooby were in the back of the Mystery Machine before anyone could say anything else.

The others laughed and headed to the van. Fred was secretly relieved that everything had distracted his friends from the small plastic card in his wallet. For the most part it was the same as theirs, Photo, State ID Number, Date of birth. The only difference was next to Power: was the word ‘None’.

~

“I suppose it would become inevitable that the bad guys started using their powers,” Daphne sighed as the illusionist was packed into the back of the police car. 

“But we solved it anyway.” Velma was grinning. “We just needed to expand on what we previously considered was possible.” 

“And, like, we even did it before the heroes showed up.” Shaggy grinned. Probably the most predictable thing in all this were the real life superheroes starting to show up. New laws were being shaped, but right now it was a little bit of chaos. Still, they lived in a world with superheroes and Shaggy couldn’t help but think that was cool.

Two officers approached them. “Looks like everything all wrapped up. We just need to straighten up something on you statements.” The younger one said kindly.

“On your statements you were asked to write down your powers, but one of you didn’t see the need to comply.” The older glared at Fred who shrunk away.

“It’s not that I didn’t want to, I just-”

“Tell me what your power is, **now**.” 

Fred felt his mind haze over. “I don’t have one. I’m just normal.”

The cop raised his eyebrow in disbelief. “Really? That must feel pretty terrible.”

“It does. I feel like dead weight weighing everyone down.”

“For the love of God, Frank, knock it off.” The younger cop shook his partner and the cloud lifted from Fred’s mind. 

He snapped back into reality and realized the gang had closed ranks around him. Velma and Daphne were on either side, Shaggy behind him with a hand on his shoulder, and Scooby in front of him, hackles raised. Then he remembered what the cop had made him say and felt shame start to well up inside him. Sure he had been jealous, but it was okay as long as he never voiced those feelings. Only now someone had taken control of his tongue and forced the words out.

“We should be fine, why don’t you kids head on home.” The younger cop waved them off and pulled his partner away.

“You know none of us think you’re dead weight, don’t you Fred?” Daphne asked softly.

“I know. It’s just in my head.” Fred had never felt so small in his life. “Can we go home? Please?”

~

The Gang never brought the incident up again. They’d never been specially showy with their powers (or quirks as they were coming to be known), mostly out of deference to Velma’s discomfort. Now it was complete radio silence. Fred was grateful on one level that his friends were that considerate over something so amazing, but still wished Officer Frank had never made him say anything. He couldn’t help resenting the man, and had taken to letting Velma do most of the talking to law enforcement. He felt a little cowardly over it, but figured with Scooby and Shaggy scared of everything under the sun he was allowed this.

They had just figured out the mystery of the ‘Banshee’ haunting the old shack and were at Fred’s favorite part - setting the trap.

“Okay, I think all we need is about a foot more twine and I think this trap is set.” Fred looked at his handiwork proudly.

“Like, bad news, Fred. We’re out of twine.” Shaggy said sadly.

“What do you mean out of twine?” Fred asked. It didn’t make sense. Sure Shaggy couldn’t conjure something like an engine, but twine was barely any effort.

“I brought up everything in the Mystery Machine. There’s none left, man.” Shaggy shrugged.

“But can’t you just make more?”

“Oh. I, like, don’t do that anymore.” Shaggy hunched his shoulders a bit.

“What do you mean you don’t do that anymore? That’s your quirk. It’s- wait.” He thought none of them were talking about their powers. What if-? “Did you guys stop using your powers, because of me?”

The silence that met him told him all he needed to know. “Okay, no. We are **not** doing this.”

“Fred, if our having quirks make you feel bad, then we don’t need them. You’re way more important to us than that.” Daphne insisted.

“Look. Yes, I’m upset that I don’t have a power. I’ll even go so far as to say I’m jealous that you guys do. But at no point did I want you guys to feel like you had to give up your powers. I mean, there’s plenty else to be jealous of. Velma, you’re so brilliant, sometimes I feel like I can barely add two and two together. It’s hard not to feel plain when Daphne lights up a room with her amazing personality and ability to coordinate an outfit to look as amazing on the outside as she is on the inside. And it would definitely be nice to be able to eat twice my body weight and never worry about gaining a pound like Shag and Scooby do.”

“But I would never want Velma to dumb herself down, Daphne to make herself dull, or Shaggy and Scooby to not eat as much. Because those are quirks of being you, and your powers are a part of that now. You’re all so amazing, and now you’re even more amazing, and I don’t want to take _any_ of that away from you. I know my insecurities are all in my head, but if you guys have to give up parts of yourself for me? Then I really am weighing you down and I refuse to let that happen. Ever.”

Before he knew what was happening, Fred found himself in the middle of a group hug.

“Oh hey, What do you know? Looks like we had more twine after all.” Shaggy slipped the couple of feet of twine he had conjured into Fred’s hand.

“Great.” Fred grinned. “Let’s go catch us a banshee.”

~

“They’re approaching fast. Shaggy and Scooby are about ten yards away. The Banshee is a yard behind them.” Daphne had her eyes shut as she concentrated on the image her radar was sending her.

“Let us know when they’re clear.” Fred held one rope and Velma the other. With Daphne’s quirk, it was easy to avoid accidentally capturing the boys in their traps.

“Now!”

As Shaggy and Scooby sailed past, Fred and Velma pulled and the Banshee was launched off the floor and into a net, which twisted around before being deposited in a hay baler, leaving the banshee trapped and unable to move.

“Call it in, guys. We got her.”

Soon enough the police arrived, along with a token force from the Hero’s Union.

“As you can see, we’ve caught the so-called Banshee terrorizing the area. Or should I say, Lanie Mayfair.” Velma pulled the mask off the so-called banshee. “She claimed she’d never gone near Baker’s Shack for fear of the banshee, but the soil on her shoes was the _exact_ composition of the mud outside the shack. The feeling of dread and fear people reported were actually a low level psychic quirk that inspired those feelings.” That’s why they had to call in the Hero’s Union. Any crime with quirks used had to go through them. “The Banshee’s wail was prerecorded, and played over a series of speakers, including one hidden in the Banshee’s choker.” 

“But we checked the records when the reports first came in. No one currently in the area has a quirk like that.” One of the Hero’s Union reps pointed out.

“Because she kept it a secret. I bet if you looked up Lanie’s records her power would be listed as ‘None’. Lanie’s an experienced conwoman. She knew how useful her quirk would be and pretended not to have one during registration. A quirk like that would be easy to overlook since it wouldn’t produce a visible or physical effect.”

“Very good Velma. But you’re wrong on one count.” Lanie grinned nastily. “It’s not a _minor_ psychic quirk.” That was all the warning they got before a wave of pure despair shot out of her.

Fred felt his knees buckling under him. All those insecurities Frank had brought up, his lower self worth, jealousy, and guilt over being jealous, flooded to the surface once more. But he shoved it down. He had laid those demons to rest. He looked up and noticed everyone else wasn’t faring so well, not even the police or heroes. Most looked full of despair, with some weeping openly. Fred thought Shaggy was doing a little better, only to realize that while he didn’t look miserable, he didn’t look anything, as if there was no life in him.

“See how pathetic you are?” Lanie asked haughtily. “How completely wretched and worthless your life is?”

“Don’t you _dare_ say that about _any_ of them!” Fred snarled, rising to his feet. “My friends are the most amazing people on the planet! They’ve - we’ve put away dozens of low end criminals like you away. I mean, look at you. We’ve got you trapped and your quirk certainly isn’t going to help you escape. Seems we’re doing better than you.”  
  


Lanie’s jaw had dropped and the others were starting to rouse from whatever stupor they had been put into.

“We need to get to Fred.” Velma, who had been nearest to Lanie, forced herself up and pushed herself off the baler and towards him. On the way she grabbed Daphne and pulled her along. Shaggy had snapped out of his unresponsive state and he and Scooby were closing ranks too. Fred didn’t think he need the protection, she was still stuck in the bale, after all, but he appreciated having his friends by his side.

“You’re finished Lanie, and your two-bit quirk isn’t going to save you,” Daphne snapped, anger clear in her voice.

“Lanie…Mayfair.” One of the fallen heroes was back on his feet, though shaky. He headed towards the gang. “This is your only warning. Release your quirk.”

“No! How are you doing this?! All of you should be lost to despair! How can you even move!?”

The hero lifted his hand and there was a small zap before Lanie started twitching and the feeling of despair vanished completely. “Alchemist, we’re going to need to keep this one sedated.”

“Right.” The other hero touched Lanie gently. “That should keep her out for the next few hours.” She turned to Fred. “Thank you for your assistance. Without your help, this would have been a mess.”

“I just snapped out of it first.” Fred shrugged. “I was just lucky.”

“Fred, you didn’t just snap out of it first, you drove it back.” Velma corrected. “That’s why I wanted to get everyone near you, you were canceling out the effect.”

“How? I mean I don’t have powers, they ran a bunch of tests to make sure I didn’t have powers. How could I cancel out the effect?”

“We do need a better way to test for Psychic quirks,” Alchemist commented while the police officer worked on getting Lanie out of the bale. “If that’s two missed right here.”

“Two? But I-”

“Fred, you do have a power, it’s just the opposite of that witch’s.” Daphne explained. “I could feel it battling hers, driving away the darkness it was putting in my mind. The closer I got to you, the stronger I felt.”

“Like, no wonder we missed it.” Shaggy laughed. “Feeling better when you’re around just sounds like a side effect of being around you.”

“I…have a power?” Fred couldn’t keep the raw hope out of his voice.

“You do indeed.” Taser clapped his hand on his shoulder. “I think it’s obvious that, unlike Mayfair, you took the tests in good faith. But I think you need to get your registration straightened out as soon as possible.”

“Oh, yes. Yes, Sir!”

~

“I can’t believe this is real.” Fred stared down at the card in his hands. It was identical to the one he’d been carrying around for months, only instead of the word ‘None’ next to Power: it said ‘Morale Boost’.

It wasn’t a flashy or powerful quirk. Certainly not something a hero in a comic book would have. But it was _his_ quirk. Something he had that could help his friends. And he wouldn’t trade it for any other power in the world.


	12. Snippet from A Shaggy Wolf Story

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This was another old story, but one I decided I wouldn't work on until I finished Mirror's Gaze. That was a mistake

“Another day, another mystery solved!” Fred cheered as they drove the Mystery Machine home.

“Like speak for yourself. I would love to have a quiet trip for once,” Shaggy complained. “I thought that Mole Monster was gonna carve me up like a turkey.” He shuddered in the memory.

“Okay, I know we’ve been doing our best not to bring this up,” Velma interjected. “But Shaggy, you’re an honest to goodness werewolf.”

“So what?” Shaggy asked confused.

“You can turn into a giant mass of muscles, claws, and teeth just by taking off your necklace. Yet you’re terrified by someone in a rubber mask.” Velma raised her eyebrow.

“Monsters are scary!” Shaggy defended.

“Give it up Velma, werewolf or not, Shaggy’s still Shaggy.” Daphne stated. “Something which we’re all very grateful for.” she added

“I guess you have a point,” Velma ceded.

“Besides, as long as I’ve got this amulet, I’m as good as human.” Shaggy proudly displayed the brightly glowing moonstone. “And I’m not taking this off for any reason.”

“Not even in the shower?” Daphne asked, aghast.

“Wet fur.”

“I revoke my objection.”

“I dunno, I think it would be kind of cool to be a werewolf.” said Fred.

“It’s not.” Shaggy’s voice was strangely flat. “It’s weird and creepy. At least with this I can actually be norma-” As he spoke the amulet pulsed a ring of pale golden light. “That wasn’t good, was it?” As he spoke his teeth and nails began sharpening.

Velma turned in her seat and saw the now brilliantly glowing pendant and the slow transformation her friend was undergoing. “Freddy…step on it.

~

By the time they had reached the house they shared, the transformation was almost complete. They hurried inside, Scooby keeping a watch so that no one saw them. On the way in, Velma noticed an envelope by the front door. Grabbing it, she noted the strange texture of the paper. She was the last inside, studying the the envelope intently.

Daphne was flinging the curtains closed. While they weren’t famous enough to warrant paparazzi, the occasional reporter would stop by unannounced to ask about their latest case and none of them wanted them to make a scoop out of Shaggy’s curse. “Velma, can you put that down, we have a much bigger problem on our hands.” Shaggy made a small whining noise.

“I’m not so sure it’s unrelated.” Velma broke the wax seal and began untying the string. “This envelope is vellum, sealed with string and wax. I’ve only seen one like it once before. The envelope that copy of Bisclavret was in.”

Shaggy’s ears perked up “The one which gave you the clue on how to turn me back.”

“Exactly. The note inside said it was left by someone I had spoken to about werewolf lore. Since we were at a werewolf festival, that could have meant anyone. I didn’t want to look a gift horse in the mouth, but it’s been bothering me for some time. What are the odds that out of the twenty or so people who heard the prayer, only Shaggy became a werewolf? My guess is not as high as me just so happening to buy a magic amulet that would reverse the effects, at least temporarily. And then having an anonymous well wisher leave me a book that explains how to use said amulet.”

Freddy’s eyes narrowed, “What are you saying Velma?”

“That someone arranged, or at the very least knew this was going to happen. These envelopes are a way of sharing information when he or she thinks we need it. Aha!” The envelope opened and a few pieces of paper fell out, followed by a note card.

The pages were photocopies of a much older book. Prominently displayed on the page were drawings of a familiar moonstone necklace. On the card was printed: _Why did Bisclavret run through the woods for days? Mayhaps the time would have been lessened if another would bear his yoke._

Velma read the card out loud for the other. “Bisclavret again. And this proves that there was no coincidence with the pendant.”

“But what language is this?” Daphne was looking at one of the photo pages. “It’s certainly not English, but it doesn’t look like Latin, or Cyrillic, or anything else I’ve seen.”

“It’ll take some time to decipher,” Velma agreed. “But I think the note is what’s important. The timing can’t be coincidental. If we received the book before Shaggy was permanently transformed, we might not have been focused on how Bisclavret returned to normal - or forgotten it under all the other werewolf stories we’d been hearing. Likewise we just so happened to receive this package on the day the amulet failed. Since it would take too long to decipher the pages, the note is the key.”

“‘Why did Bisclavret run through the wood for days?’ Well, he was a werewolf. He wasn’t affected by the moon, like in more modern variants. He could transform by taking his clothes on and off. Hmm,” Velma began pacing in full analytical mode. “But why for days? If he could transform back just by putting his clothes on…That’s it!”

“What’s it?” Shaggy asked hopefully.

“Why would Bisclavret stay as a wolf for days if he didn’t have to? Because he _did_ have to. He had control over the mechanism of his transformation, but he couldn’t halt it completely. At some point he had to transform.”

“The amulet probably works the same way. Or rather it gives Shaggy the ability to be normal, but it’s not a cure. He has to spend some time as a werewolf, or it stops working. When I bought it, it looked like an ordinary necklace. But it’s been glowing steadily more and more. I think that was it’s way of showing it was ‘full’.”

“Great, so how do we, like, change me back?” The pleading in Shaggy’s tone was obvious. Which made Velma’s answer all the harder to say.

“We wait it out. Allow the amulet to discharge. When it stops glowing, it should be able to change you back.”

“How long do you think that would take?”

“I’m not sure, but given the whole parallel with Bisclavret…”

“Days?” Shaggy whimpered.

“Could be.” Velma admitted. That werewolf moaned and curled up into a ball.

“Rut arout re eggs?” Scooby asked.

“Eggs?” Daphne asked.

Shaggy uncurled slightly “The note said something about yolks, right?”

Velma shook her head. “Not those kind of yokes. It means…” She stopped. “Shaggy, toss me the necklace.”

He hesitated, he hadn’t taken the thing off since the festival he’d been cursed at. Still, it wasn’t exactly doing him any good as it was.

Shaggy tossed it over. Velma’s arm tingled as she caught it, which hopefully was evidence for her theory. She slipped it over her head and the necklace pulsed again. A strange tingly feeling swept through her body as bones and muscles rearranged. Fur grew in, along with claws, fangs, and a tail.

“Okay Shaggy, I see what you were talking about. This is weird.” Velma commented as she looked at her new self. “Wait, I have a muzzle, how am I even talking normally?”

Shaggy’s jaw opened and closed, no words coming out.

“Velma, are you okay?” Fred asked, concerned.

“Fine. A little weirded out, but fine. I have so many tests to run.”

“Tests? Velma what is going on?” Daphne asked, “You were wearing that necklace the day you got it and nothing like this happened.”

“It wasn’t ‘charged’ then,” Velma explained. “The key to the note was the word ‘yoke’. It has two meanings. The literal one is a harness farm animals use to pull plows and other equipment worn around their necks. This gave way to the second meaning of yoke - to have a burden on you. The note uses both of them, referring to Shaggy’s being a werewolf as his ‘burden’, which can be ‘harnessed’ by the item he wears on his neck.

“Why did Bisclavret run through the woods for days? Mayhaps the time would have been lessened if another would bear his yoke.’ In two sentences it tells us that Shaggy does have to spend some time transformed, but the amount of time can be shortened if someone else is willing to be a werewolf with him, and that wearing the amulet will achieve that.

“You know, I think you just said that in one sentence a lot more clearly.” Daphne said dryly.

“Our informant isn’t exactly trying to be clear. The first contact was meant to be seen as coincidental. My guess is the only reason this message is as overt as it is is he couldn’t figure out a way to-” Velma broke off. “Shaggy, are you okay?”

Shaggy did not look okay. He was bent over hold his head in his hands, his tail seeming to be trying to wrap around his waist. “Someone did this to me.” He finally said. “I thought it was some random magic thing, could’ve happened to anyone. But it wasn’t. Someone meant to turn me into a werewolf. Why? What did I do to them?”


End file.
